News

Benefits Loss Announced For Almost 4,000 Locals

Monday July 9 2012

ALMOST 4,000 locals in Barnsley will lose their benefits as part of a shake-up.

Swathing changes to the Employment and Support Allowance (which provides financial help to people who are unable to work because of illness or disability) will mean the change will see over 3,700 locals lose their benefits entirely.

The changes mean that Employment Support Allowance will only be paid for 12 months now - before it could be paid until they reached pension age.

Peter Francis, head of Welfare Rights Service, said: “In Barnsley this change will affect 7,000 people, of who 3,700 will lose their entitlement to benefits all together.

“People who are losing their Employment Support Allowance may be entitled to other benefits or help that they are not aware of.”

Coun Alan Gardiner, cabinet spokesperson for Corporate Affairs, said: “The sudden loss of income can have a drastic effect on a family’s ability to budget which in turn could lead to other problems. Under these circumstances we would urge people affected by this change to contact one of the advice agencies to see if they or their partners are entitled to any other benefits.”

If you'd like help, here are some useful numbers:
Welfare Rights Service on 01226 772360
Citizens Advice Bureaux on 08444 111 444
Disabled Information Advice Line on 01226 240273
Age UK on 01226 776820

its about time , only the really incapacitated should get this money , Barnsley has too many claiming benefits, its the benefit system that has caused this making the option of working not seam worth it they pay too much and make life very comfortable not working and those that milk the system properly even get a new car thrown in.
Its about time the government clamps down on all benefit claimants. make them do community service to earn there benefits and bring back national service get the youth some work experience and even a trade as some of these kids have come from generations of work less family's if the government and local government don't do something Barnsley is going to get even more chavs hanging round town centre.

It's fine to say that Jonny Boy and I agree about the spongers who have no serious illness but what about others like myself who may be affected.

I have been unable to work since September 2009 due to a terminal illness (Brain Tumour) and rely on that money to pay my bills, mortgage and support a wife and two kids?

I have worked since the age of 16 to 30 and paid my dues in taxes for 14 years with the last 5 years in the 40% tax bracket due to my salary.

What makes it worse is my wife is only allowed to work a certain number of hours as she is caring for me and our two children, if she works over these hours she would lose her carers allowance because of how the system works, she will even lose it if I lose my allowance to ESA which would mean we would lose just short of £1,000 a month putting my mortgage and bills out of sight !!!

If the cuts are fair and only affect the necessary people then that's fine but if it puts severley ill people on the streets who have families then where do we go from there ???

i am sick and tired of everyone thinking that everybody on benefits lives a life of luxury because it isnt like that, i worked doing crap jobs and paid my stamp,then through no fault of my own had to finish through ill health i had my own car not any more i cant afford it i have to rely on my family if i need to go anywhere because i cant afford the bus fare,i had a couple of holidays every year,not now, i havnt had an holiday since i had to stop work,i cant remember the last time i had a takeaway, i dont have my heating on during the winter i get a blanket then spend the whole summer hoping the warm weather will dry out the damp. because i worked im not entitled to income support so i have to pay a portion of my rent and council tax me electric tv licence water etc are exactly the same as everyone elses i dont have an husband or partner to support me but luckily i have a very caring family who help me, i certainly dont live a life of luxury so please before you start tarring everyone with the same brush just stop and think not every one as a comfortable life on benefits even though ive payed in more than my fair share over the years

I agree with Karl and Maggie - WHAT exactly do you call 'the really incapacitated'? Some benefits claimants are drug/alcohol addicted, is THAT incapacitated?

I have a number of health problems, which individually and jointly cause me to have great pain, depression, constant tiredness, BUT I WILL try to remain mobile when possible, which might be 2-3 days a week. My immunity system is damaged, which means any time I am in contact with any bug, I am likely to catch it, and it's effect on me is worse due to low immunity.

Who is in a position to decide who needs benefits - unless they come and spend a week with me 24/7 then they can see just how little of live I can actually enjoy??

Don't judge everyone as scroungers, and pray the you (Jonny Boy) never have to claim benefits through ill-health.

I left my bedroom today for the first time in 2 months to go to the doctors. I then came home and changed back into my pj's and was totally exhausted. The time before that was 3 months prior for a hospital appointment then back to the bedroom. I can not manage the stairs in my house so it is easier to stay upstairs on the bed out of the drafts downstairs. Life has been like this for the last 5 years as my illness has got steadily worse since 2003. I am the person being called benefit scrounging scum by the press even though I worked from age 13 until I had my first child at 30. Stress makes my illness worse and that is all I have had for the past year with the government threatening to get everyone off benefit by hook or by crook. People who are vulnerable and very ill are losing their lifelines and the tabloid press are lying to the people. Buy hey if it is in the paper that we are all living the high life and driving bentleys then it must be true eh?!!!

Govment make me sick why are they taking money away from people who most need it to live an why is it taken away from people with disabilties all ways wrong people lose out they should take it of lazy gits that r fit to work an lay in bed all day an brag on buses about not working saying why should they work when they can lay in bed an get payed for it have herd this said alot from some of they younger generation stop there money not people who are gen it stinks

Govment make me sick why are they taking money away from people who most need it to live an why is it taken away from people with disabilties all ways wrong people lose out they should take it of lazy gits that r fit to work an lay in bed all day an brag on buses about not working saying why should they work when they can lay in bed an get payed for it have herd this said alot from some of they younger generation stop there money not people who are gen it stinks

By the sounds of it those people who are genuinely ill will not be missing out it unless I have misunderstood. You would be suprised by the number of people who claim this benefit but shouldn't I myself have known people who were on it for years and were too ill to work but managed to find and keep a full time job when they were kicked off. There's a difference between being medically too ill to work i.e being terminally ill, suffering a heart attack and seeing yourself as too ill to work i.e oh well I get back pains if it rains so I can't work. Those who are medically unable to work hopefully will continue to recieve benefit and those who are fit for some kind of work, and don't forget there are jobs you can do from home, will hopefully find a job they enjoy that makes them feel better.

its not the fact that people are claiming benefits they are not entitled to, i agree totally that there are people out there that could be working, its the fact that people seem to be under the impression that EVERYONE on benefits lives a life of luxury and thats simply not true, some of us are surviving on the absolute minimum and not all of us are living this way through choice,and believe me if i could choose between claiming benefits or having my health back and going to work i know exactly what i would choose and it wouldnt be benefits

There are a lot of genuine claimants out there, there are also a lot of lazy spongers who know how to work the system...a member of my step family (who is almost 50 & has worked less than a year in their entire life!) gets more in benefits than my mums gets in pension for working almost 55 years!! How is that right? Add in the other norpins like no council tax, rent, prescriptions dental etc etc & he is over £100 better off. He is claiming sickness benefits & he is one of many like it that purely has idleitus!! Its people like this that need to be thrown off .

dont understand why people think that everyone on benefits are using and think its a luxary life and sit on there arse doing nothing because they get some money.. i work at a pub on a sunday night and some saturrdays and volunteer at riding for the disabled to get some experience not everyone are using!!!!!

The benefit system in this country has been the same for year it's totally wrong you work all your life as I have paying near on £1000 a month in tax and insurence to pay for people to go out to pub on dole I no people that are on dole and are out every week Im lucky If I go once a month. Yes they are people that are sick an need these benefits I totally agree and hope I don't need to utilise these in the future. But then there are people that convince themselfs they are sick with various reasons and even pretend to be sick just for the hand out. Some people need to learn, just because they might have a disability for instance doesn't mean they carnt work as lots of disabled people have done on the past and changed role to a job that's suits situation I mean every one complaint in here about lossing benefits are sat on a computer at home typing and in this day and age computer jobs are a must.

why do the government not look into regenerating Barnsley in what is already a struggling town there are no jobs to have if you go into job centre they expecy you to travel up to two hours away or stop your benefits .my husband was very ill and had heart surgery and two strokes but they stopped his money and yes for all you that think its easy being on benefits we do not go out do not go on holiday and sometimes do not eat so that our two children can we have to budget really really carefully with nothing left i do not get 10 pound a day to sit in the pub or methadone free i dont go round stealing i just go without so for all you that think we on benefits are living a life of riley walk in my shoes for a month and see what the worry do,s to you and may i add that i too have always worked until my husband became ill

Well I like everybody's comments,there has always been workers and shirkers,that will never change.there are those that have worked all their lives,and put loads into the system,only to be abused by those who do not want to put into the system,but want to claim from it.Its a sad state of affairs.Who has caused it the politicians who have allowed it,Labour,or the claimants both incapacited or not.People who have contributed should be able to claim from a country they have supported.But hold on there,I have worked for the Nhs most of my life and so has my wife.Our son has not he's not contributed,but was born with a disability.The DLA say he doesn't need support because he's got better,the job centre says he doesn't need support because he's got better.But hold on again his medical record states different,he was born like this will die like this.So are the medical profession guilty as well in this for telling people they have disabilities or not.im sure I'm not judge and jury on this.But they've now stopped £420 off my son per month.So after contributing for all these years both myself and my wife will continue to contribute to the state again to support a lad who no fault of his own may never work.Im not going to say anymore because in the past I've been called rascist which I'm not.Should we be supporting our own British people who were born here or supporting others who have not worked or entitled to be here ???? I don't know anymore about this country.

I was a heroin addict for many years, I now work full time and been clean for 2 year, as soon as I got my benifit by the next day it had gone all on drugs, food electric and gas stamps should be brought in to stop this happening.

All I HAVE SEEN FROM 1980 IS YOU CAN NOT SINE ON AS YOU ARE DISABULED YOU MUST GO ON A COSE FOR YOUR KINED.
SO I DID A Y.T.S TO SHOW I COULD DO OK BUT AFTER BEEN A BARNSLEY COLEG FOR 6 MONTHS I WAS NEVER GIVEN ANY WORK I HAD 6 GRAND MAL FITS AND SPENT 3 MONTHS RECOTHERING AND WAS MAID TO HAVE A GREEN CARD IN 1981 THEN IN 1982 TO 1985 BECOS MRS THACHER WAS NOT WISHING TO HAVE TOO MANY UNENPLOYED ORE SIK PEOPLE ON HER FILES DO TO THE PIT CLOSSURS I WAS MOVED FROME ONE BENAFIT THEN A NOVER WHEN I WAS TAKING DRUGS THAT MENT I WAS DIZY ALL THE TIME I EVEN STOPED MY TABLETS SO I COULD TRY TO GET WORK AS I WAS A TEENAGER,
THIS IS RONG IAM NO BETTER OFF I STILL HAVE EPLEPSY DIBETES AND OVER PROBLEMS AND I AM TOLD I DO NOT NEED HELP FROM MY HUSBAND .
IF BABYS WISH TO BE MPS THEY SHOULD KNOWWHAT LIFE IS LIKE IN THE WOKING CLASW NOT BORDING SCHOOL

There's a single woman who I know of, 3 kids 3 different dads who lives in a 4 bedroom house her kids are kitted out in the latest fashion and gadgets, drives a gorgeous car and has a couple of holidays a year abroad, she only has to work the minimum 16 hours to qualify for the working tax credits and she's admitted she has too much money at the end of the month which she doesn't know what to do with!!!!! Why are people like this able to do it? Or the people who never work have a kid claim everything they can, and instead of stopping at just the couple of kids they churn about 5 or 6 out meaning benefits go up and up, why? I have 2 kids I work 2 jobs my husband works all hours and I can't physically afford to have anymore children benefits should be capped after a certain number.

Although I have worked most of my life, I have also claimed unemployment benefit and also been on "the sick" a few times and there have been times I have claimed sick benefit when I was quite capable of working......Don't blame the people who do, blame the government that lets people get away with doing it. As for the people who scream get a job and call people scroungers etc. I am sure that most people would get a job who could, if 1/ there WAS any work and 2/ The few jobs that are available paid more than the minimum wage. Also, and this is just my humble opinion on what I see and read - It seems that the biggest scroungers in the country that once was called 'Great' Britain' are the people who are running the place. There are more villains sat in the Houses of Parliament than there are sat in all the prisons in all the UK

All you lucky people who have jobs and FIT enough to work i envy you. Myself and my husband have worked all our working life and paid taxes!! My husband had 2 strokes and now cannot work!! I also have medical problems which now restrict what i am able to do!! The benifits we are on are seriously affecting our finances and some weeks we cannot afford to buy food!! Its humilliating and embaressing!! We dont want to be in this position! WE WANT TO WORK AND BE FIT AND HEALTHY!! wE DONT ENJOY OUR LIVES BECAUSE OF THIS!! Before you pour your insulting comments on here about "people on benefits" just THINK!!!!! You are the lucky ones!!!

not everyone on benefits are milking the system, i give up everything to have a normal 20year old son who should be out working and enjoying life having a girlfriend but he is wheelchair bound, tube feed, has a superpubic catherer fitted ,corpuscallosotomy, has no convulsive status, interactual epilepsy,and
other complex needs i sure he would give that up to work to be able to get dress and walk and even cook meals for himself, he can't he can have from 3 fits aday up to 30 fits, can't work have to look after him. change his nappy, needs oxgen, give him his meds , help him get dress and the list goes on, before people make comments there are people that need benfits i offer anyone to come and step in me shoes for a month you soon change your mind.
what i would give to have a normal son some people don't know how lucky you are. and yes before you comment would love to be able to work.

my daughter is on the dole she is trying to get a job but there is none she is now doing a work experance for 2 weeks which the jobcentre has sorted out for her she has hanced cv out all over inc barnsley and meadowhall there is two many people coming into this country and taking our jobs

i cant believe people r still on here complaining about this, spongers r spongers theyll find a way round it the lazy gits and for use that say there rnt any jobs how come hard workers from other countrys can come here and find work then use have the bloody cheak to say there stealing your jobs.stop dole n give them food stamps.

Yeah there is a lot ov benefit bums out there , but u try and get a job now its so hard because they are letting a lot of other people in to this country and it is makeing things hard for the young generation to get a job .. Im a qualified chef i have been out of work now 5 months , just because they dont want to pay u a proper wage when they can go to aggency and get some one to do it for half the pay .im not sticking up for benefit bums , but it needs a big shake up BUT THEY ARE GOING TO DO IT TO THE WRONG PEOPLE ....

Yeah there is a lot ov benefit bums out there , but u try and get a job now its so hard because they are letting a lot of other people in to this country and it is makeing things hard for the young generation to get a job .. Im a qualified chef i have been out of work now 5 months , just because they dont want to pay u a proper wage when they can go to aggency and get some one to do it for half the pay .im not sticking up for benefit bums , but it needs a big shake up BUT THEY ARE GOING TO DO IT TO THE WRONG PEOPLE ....

Just because you can't do the job you have done all your life or the job you like anymore due to "sickness" does not mean that you are unable to do any job at all. People need to realise that the Government cannot sustain a benefit culture society in the long term, and they should take a look at their lives and work out what they can do, not what they can't.

As for comments about "there is no jobs" Jobcentres have approx 1/2 million vacancies advertised at any one time! There are jobs, there is just more people applying so you have to ensure you sell yourself to the employer better than the next man (or woman)

Times are hard and especially with inflation. The problem is the country has no economy and no incentive. At the age of 16 I did a so called apprenticeship for a company called William cook hi tec casting, I went everyday working my arse off for 4 years. The place shut down because of the Enron problems. I then joined the British army and did 5 years but got no civi qualifications. I remember walking into the job center and the staff looking down at me. I have resulted to going self employed and own my own retail online company now. The government basically do not help small businesses, so how is economy supposed to grow in the Uk. Without economy = Unemployed people.

i wonder how many of you people who call those of us who are ill benefit scroungers 'who may well find themselves in the same position in the future' would turn round and say im too ill to work through no fault of my own, but no thanks i dont want any benefits im entitled to even though iv worked all my adult life and paid my dues not many i dare bet and just remember one thing nobody chooses to be ill ,good health is not garanteed and anyone could be struck down with illness at any time

I'd like to add to this thread, but it would be like talking to a bunch of deaf, blind sheep... Most people really do not have the first clue about why this situation is the way it is, and believe what they are told by the government, what they read in papers, what they watch on the news...its all BULLSH*T. It doesn't take a brain surgeon to work out whats going on, just time, care and inclination...when people stop listening to these gits in government and make up your own mind as to whats going on, find out FOR YOURSELF, if you actually give a sh*t, then, and only then when enough people wake up, will things get better. Until then, "Let them live in chains..."

Reply
Posted by Pauline ann clapham on Wednesday July 11 2012 at 19:05

I was sixty 1 march still waiting to get my pension does anyone know when ill receive pension

the governments doing the right thing all the spongers need to stop been lazy get out and get a job there's jobs out there but most people don't want to experience hard work, all this cant work because of illness stuff is beyond belief fair enough terminal illness that's a plausible excuse but jobs can be tailored around a persons disability

OK Sean who would employ me. I do not have a termina illness so you reckon I should get some sort of job. I have CFS/Fibromyalgia which is a much misundrstood illness but I will try and explain.

I have brainfog: which means I can ask the same question numerous times a day and not remember I did. I can read a page in a book and forgotten what it was by the time i got to the bottom of the page. I forget what things are called and use the wrong words for things. I can not have anyone talking while the tv/radio is on or vice versa as my brain will not cope and I just hear a jumble.

That is just one element of my illness shall I continue?

The government and the tabloids are lying to you and you just can't see it.

I pray that all the people who are slagging me off now and pouring their hatred towards me never get sick, never have an accident and never get a terminal illness because by then there will be NO HELP and you will finally think shit they were right.

As others before me have said I would trade my benefits for my health back in a heartbeat, just be thankful if you still have yours.

I had my ESA stopped at the end of April after completing the prescribed 365 days of benefit. After working 30 years since the age of 18 years old I became disabled. Fortunately I have been one of the few lucky people. I have gained a job with a company that supports my disability and was happy to make the adjustments needed so that I could work for them. But that has still left me three months without any money or benefits until everything could be put in place for me to start work. And Job Center Plus had nothing to do with me finding this job!!
To all you people that believe that people on benefit are scroungers- yes there are some scroungers out there, they are the same folk that come to work and do the littlest they can. There are always folk out there that want everything for nothing. BUT the majority of people are not and are genuine in their illness. Like I said I've just started a new job but my disability hasn't changed it's still there and always will be. Unfortunately not everyone can be as lucky as me but everyone still needs to eat and pay their bills, so this stupidity with ESA needs sorting out quickly !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Jonny boy i agree with you , i knew of a woman who could not work for 25 years due to hand shakes , know one lass who had a motor bike accident who could not work due to her not been able to walk , yet she walks miles daily . my brothers neighbour has not worked for years due to his bad back yet in summer he digs his garden and at xmas climbs his ladder puts the xmas decorations up and jonny he gets a new car every 3 years ,or one of his friends cant work due to diabetes with 8 kids yet can do every thing as well as some one fit and after getting £60 pre child a week and the rest he does not need to work , And lucky your like your situation is not typical i know more that a scrounging then genuinely ill , my neighbour lost his job in 2008 due to the recession has not worked since he now gets mobility and milks the system , if you live a nice housing estate were you have nice working or retired neighbours then you would think the problem of false benefit claimants is only a small problem but if you see it daily you know like the government know there is more scroungers than genuine , i feel for anyone who cant work but feel these should be looked after and not lose any money .my neighbours across the road don't work had one kid then had two more on benefits they drink and smoke they drive and have full sky package they are not scraping by.

i was not saying all are scroungers but was not just talking about invalidity either and those of you who genuinely cant work i am not slagging you off ,but those with a few kids who don't work are living a good life and i am not just talking about invalidity . i agree with you Sean there is too many using invalidity as an excuse not to work and jobs can be tailored , To all you who are genuine like my sister in law who is blind i say you should have nothing to fear but like you Ethan i know loads of p*** takers , down my street out of 8 houses only 2 have working family's i am not just talking about invalidity and they are living the good life at drinking smoking at home for there kids and not scraping by either .
Sorry to all you genuine sick people who have been caught up due to the scroungers .

Bout bloody time they did this I know alot off people who claim a form of benefit they seem to go away for 2 hols a year I wish I could do this I claim no benefit apart from state child benefit no other

WTF? i am 19 with 2 kids i have had 4 job interviews this year, i have been doing voluntary work in charity shops and i am at college, i am also starting my own business, but until thats up and running what can i do?? u cant say people are not trying, theres so many lagit claims out there, with all the comments i must be a smack head just cos i'm on benifits

I personally feel that unless you are incapacitated if you can physically do some sort of job you should have to work for the benefits paid to you. There are a lot of jobs in the community that could be done without taking employment away from people. ie surely every outdoor space in the county has some degree of rubbish, graffitti or tidying up that could be done additional to what is done now. Schools could have extra helpers, hospitals etc.. etc... current job roles ring fenced so they stay as jobs and 'volunteers' paid their benefits on the hours worked in the community. This money for no work culture is ridiculous!